A predictable and stable business environment is the key to attracting high value-added investment to Slovenia.
AmCham Investment Committee
Key areas of the Committee’s work
The activities of the AmCham Investment Committee are aimed at providing a predictable and friendly business environment for both domestic and foreign investors.
Predictability of the business environment
A predictable and stable business environment that ensures legal certainty and transparency and removes unnecessary administrative barriers is key to quality investment. The Committee warns that any swift and reckless intervention in the stability of the business environment spreads mistrust in the country and lowers its competitiveness in international rankings. An unpredictable business environment has extremely damaging consequences for investment in the Slovenian economy and for Slovenia’s international reputation.
Correction of the national FDI screening mechanism
In 2020, the Act on Intervention Measures to Mitigate and Eliminate the Consequences of the COVID-19 Epidemic introduced the Foreign Direct Investment Screening (FDI screening) mechanism into the Slovenian legal order. In other countries, these mechanisms have also been introduced as an important tool to protect public economic and financial interests. The Committee is not opposed to the mechanism as such but has on several occasions expressed concerns about the normative regulation of the mechanism and its implementation in practice. The Committee considers that the mechanism has a significant impact on mergers, acquisitions, restructurings, the creation of new companies, and real estate transactions. If Slovenia wants to create an enabling environment for foreign investors, it is essential that the mechanism is designed and implemented in a transparent, well-thought-out manner and without creating additional administrative barriers in areas where it is not strictly necessary. The Committee therefore points out in particular that such mechanisms should be regulated in a separate law rather than such an important subject matter being regulated in an intervening law. The mechanism is unacceptable in its current form, as it is unclear and discourages investors from planning investments in Slovenia rather than attracting them. The areas subject to review urgently need to be defined and the procedures for notification and (primary) review defined and timed by the Ministry. The Committee also points out the controversial possibility of a retroactive review five years after the notification of a transaction.
Concentration control mechanism
More than five months have passed since the public debate on the proposal for a new Prevention of Restriction of Competition Act (slo. ZPOmK-2), and the fate of the proposed new ZPOmK-2 is not known to the interested public. The Committee would like to point out that the adoption of the new ZPOmK-2 is an important opportunity for the Republic of Slovenia to modernize the mechanisms and rules for the control of concentrations.
In the context of the adoption of the ZPOmK-2, the Committee proposes:
- addressing the area of time limits within which individual authorities must decide on issues relating to notified concentrations,
- introducing a time limit within which the Slovenian Competition Protection Agency has to examine the notification and request supplementary or additional information or clarifications, and to establish the obligation for the Slovenian Competition Protection Agency to issue to the notifying party, within a specified time limit, a certificate of completeness of the application by which the notifying party has notified the concentration,
- defining the point in time at which a notification is considered complete and from which the time limits for the Slovenian Competition Protection Agency’s decision start to run more clearly.
The Committee also considers that the ZPOmK-2 proposal should be extended to address the issue of transactions which, due to the specifics of the economic sector or the nature of the activities of the acquired targets, do not fulfill the basic economic criteria for triggering the notification obligation but which may nevertheless have a direct or indirect impact on the position of existing investors on the Slovenian market. In our view, such a control mechanism would be an important signal to existing domestic and foreign investors wishing to expand their investments in the Republic of Slovenia that the Republic of Slovenia will implement all the measures relevant to preserving the existence of free competition on the market.
Effectiveness and independence of regulators and agencies
Just as a robust and agile structure of regulators is important for generating confidence among domestic and foreign investors, legal certainty and the independence and objectivity of decision-making bodies are also key to increasing the attractiveness of investing in Slovenia. In this respect, the Committee has in the past welcomed the discussion on merging or streamlining some regulators and agencies, as the Committee considers that a robust and agile structure of regulators is essential to building domestic and foreign investor confidence in their expertise. The Committee considers that the merger of some regulators could have a positive impact on shortening certain procedures, and that the introduction of a “one-stop shop” could facilitate and improve the quality of regulators’ work. In this context, the Committee expects that any future legislative proposals aimed at reorganizing the functioning of regulators and agencies will be coordinated with the professional and interested public and that particular attention will also be paid to ensuring their independence and autonomy.
Work and the employment of foreigners
The Committee draws attention to the crucial importance of taking measures to ensure that Slovenia retains highly qualified employees. In this context, the Committee points out that measures to make it easier for foreign investors to employ skilled foreigners in Slovenia and to make it easier for skilled foreigners to come and work in Slovenia are equally important for the future economic and social development of Slovenia. In this context, the Committee has in recent months drawn attention to certain amendments to the Foreigners Act which could have a negative impact on the attractiveness of the Slovenian business environment for highly skilled foreigners.
Shortening and simplifying the procedures for obtaining all types of permits for domestic and foreign investors
Good communication on procedures is essential. We suggest that clear instructions or scenarios be drawn up on the procedures and steps required for obtaining the various types of permits that both domestic and foreign investors need when setting up their investment in Slovenia. The Committee believes that there is a need to improve communication on procedures (e.g., by means of an application that would allow to see which stage a certain procedure is at) and to consider the creation of specific inter-ministerial project coordination groups that would be used to coordinate the decision-making of the different administrative authorities in obtaining the various interrelated permits that domestic and foreign investors need before they can start their investment. In addition, the Committee also highlights the need for a clear and uniform interpretation of the regulatory frameworks, as legal certainty and predictability are key building blocks for a conducive business environment.
Committee members
Who are the Committee members?
See the whole list of committee members.
Join the AmCham Investment Committee
For all questions related to the Committee’s work, you can turn to our Committee coordinator Vida Dolenc Pogačnik, our COO and International cooperation director.
Vida Dolenc Pogačnik
COO and International cooperation director